Paradoxical Dreaming
by znk99fg7
Summary: Alethea dreams of a fantastical world and a gorgeous man each night. She chalks it up to her subconscious telling her she needs to get laid, not actually traveling each night to Middle-Earth. Boy does she get a surprise one morning when she wakes up and it's not in the world she was expecting. Clearly there's a lot more going on than she realises. FilixOC Plot twists ahead! M soon
1. Chapter 1

**Paradoxical Dreaming**

**Chapter One**

"Damn, I could use more dreams like that."

Alethea yawned and stretched out her long limbs in her bed, drinking in the morning light coming in through the crack in her bedroom curtains. She had just experienced the most wildly erotic and to be quite honest, sexually satisfying dream she had ever had. And _damn_, it had been good.

Alethea smiled to herself, remembering the dream. She normally wasn't one to have _those_ kind of dreams, but if they were to continue, well then, she wasn't about to complain. After all, the things that gorgeous blonde guy could do with his mouth were positively _sinful_. Nope, she wouldn't complain at all.

"_Hmmmm_..."

She was so engrossed in reliving her dirty, little fantasy with the blonde hunk from her dream that Alethea didn't hear the phone ringing until halfway through her ringtone. By the time she had stumbled out of her bed and found her phone inside the back pocket of last night's jeans, Sir Mixalot was on the second verse of _I Like Big Butts_. Yes, that was her ringtone. No, she was not about to change it any time soon. And yes, it was mostly because of the scandalised looks people would give her when it went off in public. Those were priceless and Alethea loved every last one of them.

Alethea pressed the little green phone to answer the call and put the phone to her ear.

"Who's calling and why are you calling at such an ungodly hour?"

"It's 9 am, stop whinging," came the voice of her best friend, Natasha.

"It's a Saturday. I have the right to a lie-in."

"It's Tuesday."

"Ahhh shit," Alethea muttered, rubbing her hand over her face. "In that case I'm half an hour late for work."

"You're still stuck in the office then?"

"Office? Oh, you mean hell with florescent lighting. Yup, the doc doesn't clear me for another week."

Alethea quickly pulled on her work clothes. She paused halfway through as she caught her reflection in a mirror. The long scar down the middle of her chest was the reason for her being stuck behind a desk at the hospital instead of doing her normal job as a paramedic. Though Alethea thought the scar was ugly, it was a small price to pay for being alive.

"Why are you late anyway?... It's not like you to sleep in," Natasha questioned, clearly pausing halfway through to munch on something.

"I know. I was having a pretty good dream actually."

"What, that one where the cupcakes eat that scary clown from your childhood?"

"Ha, no not this time." Alethea didn't bother brushing a comb through her mess of thick, straw-coloured hair as it wouldn't make an ounce of difference to its appearance. "This was a sex dream."

Alethea smiled as she heard her best friend choking on the other end of the line. The coughing went on for several seconds, before it seemed that Natasha was able to locate something to drink.

"I want details. Now." Natasha finally demanded. "All the dirty, juicy, deprived little details."

Alethea snorted. "Pervert."

"Sue me. Who was the guy anyway? Or was it guy_sss_?" Natasha teased and Alethea could practically hear her smirking down the phone.

"Guy. One. Singular," Alethea replied, musing over said person. "But _what_ a guy."

"So who was it?!"

"Dunno, some hot figment of my imagination my subconscious dreamed up."

"You know, they say the people you see in your dreams are people you've actually seen in real life."

"Oh darling, if I had seen Fili in real life, I would remember."

"Fili?" Natasha questioned. "That's the name your subconscious came up with for Monsieur Sexy-Sex? I'm disappointed."

Alethea rolled her eyes. If her best friend had seen the mysterious and gorgeous Fili from her dream, she would have climbed him like a tree. And no straight woman would have blamed her either. Come to think of it, nor would any gay woman. Just 'cause they wouldn't personally want to jump his bones like Alethea had in her dream, didn't mean they wouldn't see what a fine specimen of 'Hot and Sexy' he was.

"Was it good though?"

Alethea paused before answering, smiling to herself. "Oh Nat, describing that dream as 'good' would be the understatement of the century."

Laughter boomed into Alethea's ear from her phone, before Natasha said, "I think your subconscious is telling you that you need to get laid."

"I just did. _Multiple_ times," Alethea smirked.

Really, that dream had sky rocketed in her favourites category. It was now safely in the top three.

"Not in a dream, sweetie, in real life. It's been a while."

Alethea could see where this conversation was heading. She hadn't been with a man in well over a year due to the complications that had resulted with her poor health before her surgery and her recovery after it. However, she had been physically fit enough for a tumble in between the sheets for a couple of months now and much to Natasha's chagrin, didn't have any new dirty stories to swap with her over coffee. Recently her best friend had started to cotton on to why that was. The reason was 14 inches long and etched into her skin down the front of her chest so it hadn't been especially hard for her friend to guess. To be honest, Alethea was surprised Natasha hadn't guessed sooner.

"What are your plans for lunch?" Alethea asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Want to go to Lorenzo's cafe?" Natasha suggested.

"Why, do you think I'll see Fili there?" Alethea teased.

"If you do, I've got dibs because you've already had him."

"Multiple times."

"You said," was Natasha's dry response. "Oooh, got to go, a call's come in and I'm being assigned."

"Who are you partnered with this week?"

"New paramedic, fresh out of school."

"Oh that'll be fun for you."

"Don't. Look, I'll see you at Lorenzo's at 1 unless I'm called out. Bye!"

"Bye!"

Alethea threw her phone into her bag and continued to get ready for the day ahead. She had no doubt that over lunch Natasha would drag out more details about her erotic escapades in her dreamland. Even thinking about the dream caused Alethea to smile and she was fairly sure had she behaved like she had in her dream in real life, she would be tomato-red with embarrassment. Her alter ego dream self was quite the sexual being. And given the noises coming from Fili, said sexual being knew what she was doing. However this was real life and she didn't have to face a real-life Fili in the light of day or participate in the Walk Of Shame she knew people all over the city were currently doing at this very moment.

Heading out her front door, already trying to think up an excuse to give her boss for her tardiness, Alethea's thoughts drifted back to the dream.

"Well, if I have another dream like that tonight, I won't complain." And with that she locked her front door and headed out into the city of London.


	2. Chapter 2

**PARADOXICAL DREAMING**

**CHAPTER TWO**

_7 favourites and 17 follows - THANK-YOU! They mean so much to me._

_And to my reviewers - you are awesome people!_

_**greaserlady:**__ Glad to hear it. I will include sex scenes a bit later and will change the rating to M for them I guess. I'm just setting them up._

_**Marina Oakenshield:**__ Awesome username there! Thank-you, I hope you like this chapter too._

_**Mypinkpajams:**__ Thank-you, I hope you continue to like what I write. And yes, the cover picture is rather lovely, isn't it? Hmmmmmmmm ;) Yes, Natasha is fun. Wait until you see Alethea in "action" (as it were), I hope she'll speak to you on that same level!_

* * *

Three weeks. That's how long Alethea had been having some of the best nights of her life. However, they were occurring once her eyes were closed and her body had drifted off to blissful slumber. That's when her body allowed her dreams to take over, whereupon she would travel to the strange realm her subconscious had created for her. Three weeks. Three fantastic weeks. Coincidently, three was also the number of times her subconscious had gifted her with dreaming of the incredible and mysterious Fili.

Alethea was sure a part of her should be worrying how attached she was becoming to a figment of her imagination. However, she had decided that while these dreams lasted and she had the pleasure of Fili's company, no matter that it wasn't actually _real_, she would simply enjoy it. After all, where was the real harm? As far as she was concerned, there was none. Sure, she would miss the dreams once they stopped. In fact, she would _really_ miss them. However, she was not crazy enough to want to invest anything of herself other than the few hours she slept each night into whatever her subconscious was up to.

Consequently, this was what she was currently telling Natasha. Her best friend had caught her day dreaming about the blonde hunk she had been having mind-blowing sex with. Natasha would have been proud, except for the small detail that all these earth shattering orgasms were happening in her dreams and not in real life. (In case you were wondering, Alethea had lost count of her orgasms after the eighth one).

"It's not healthy," was Natasha's blunt response.

"You were overjoyed when I had the first dirty dream. Hell, you were jealous even!"

Natasha paused, her coffee cup hovering just in front of her plump lips. The girls were having Saturday morning breakfast at Lorenzo's, as per usual when neither of them were on call or working a shift with the ambulance service.

"Well, after what you described and how he used his mouth on you - and that fucking tongue of his, _jesus!_ \- how could I not be?!" Natasha laughed, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Fucking being the operative word there," was Alethea's coy reply.

Natasha snorted in her coffee, sending foam flying over the cup's rim. She continued on though, setting the cup down and wiping her sticky fingers. "Yeah well dreaming of Monsieur Sexy-Sex is all well and good, but don't you think it's time you had the _real_ thing?"

Alethea suppressed a groan by shoving a piece of bacon into her mouth. Lorenzo knew how she liked it cooked - extra crispy. Alethea slowly chewed the delicious tidbit, trying to formulate a reply that would steer the conservation away from where Natasha was taking it, i.e. her scarring.

"It'll happen when it happens. I guess no one's taken my fancy just yet, is all."

Natasha scoffed. Alethea didn't blame her. Her reply had been a complete and utter lie. Though unlike Natasha, who jumped on practically everything that moved as long as it had a penis and looked relatively clean of STIs, Alethea was a bit more picky with who she fell into bed with. However she was by no means a nun. Nope, that ship had sailed quite some time ago now and was well and truly over the horizon.

"The guy at the bar last night asked you for your number. Why didn't you give it to him?"

Alethea arched an eyebrow at that. "You mean the one who, at the end of the night, you went home with?"

Natasha stilled, before tilting her head to look at her best friend from across the table where they were sat. "Well… you clearly didn't want him."

"And you did. Hence why I didn't give him my number."

It wasn't a complete lie this time. Alethea had known Natasha had been eying up the man who had been flirting with her for the best part of the evening when they had gone out yesterday evening for a few cocktails. She'd found the man funny and attractive and wasn't all that opposed to a one night stand. However, extenuating circumstances (see earlier i.e. basically) meant she had instead steered him towards Natasha and had gone home alone.

"Fine. Bad example." Natasha waved her hand dismissing further probing. "What about the new guy who I caught you checking out?"

"Yeah, me and half the other women who've spotted him at work."

True, there was a rather good looking new paramedic who had recently joined their ranks at the hospital. It wasn't the competition from the other women who worked at the hospital that was holding her back from flirting with him (or doing more with him, as Natasha clearly meant) though.

"What do you want me to do? Hm? Jump him in the parking bay and have my wicked way with him in the back of one of the ambulances?" Alethea smirked, clearly teasing.

"Well there are stretchers in there," Natasha joined in.

"Bit narrow though," Alethea mused, picking up her steaming cup of tea. "Though, if we're on top of each other, I don't suppose it matters all that much, does it?"

"Atta girl!" Natasha clapped her hands.

Alethea merely rolled her eyes. "You're far too invested in my sex life."

"And you're far to _un_invested in it. Besides I'm your best friend. Boundaries and all that type of shit went out the window when I earned that title after pretending to be your lesbian lover to help you get away from Creepy Chris."

"_Urgh._ Creepy Chris."

Christopher Weaverly, though know widely as Creepy Chris, had been one of the girls' instructors when they were still training to be paramedics some years ago. His interest in Alethea had started to border on stalker-y when Natasha, who at the time had barely known Alethea, had noticed and in an attempt to save her, had grabbed her arm and snogged her to within an inch of her life in front of their teacher. A simple, "Alright lover?" was all Natasha had said afterwards, linking her arm through Alethea's and smiling sweetly at her and Creepy Chris. Luckily, Natasha's rescue attempt had been successful and Creepy Chris had left her alone after that. And that, my friends, is the beautiful story of how the two became best friends.

"So…" Natasha said slowly, stirring her coffee with a mischievous grin. "Does Fili kiss better than me?"

Alethea choked on her tea. Natasha laughed. _Bitch._

"What- You- W-" Alethea took a deep breath, trying to stop coughing.

Natasha continued to laugh. "What am I saying? I know I'm the best kiss you've ever had."

Oh, a challenge. Accepted.

"Really? Then how come I didn't become a lesbian?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh darling, I know you've been lusting after me since that day. Sadly I'm strictly dickly."

She was been sarcastic and it caused them both to giggle.

"Well I do love you dearly." They both smiled at that. "However Fili kisses better."

Natasha gasped, her face contorting to fake shock and horror. Alethea threw her head back and laughed.

* * *

That night Alethea dreamt of Fili again. She would never dispute that that snog from Natasha all those years ago had been good, even though she was straight, but the way Fili kissed her… well, Natasha had _nothing _on it.

Her dream with Fili that night involved a night sky, clever hands and a barn loft with a soft bed of hay that just got everywhere. And _oh boy_, was it a good night.

* * *

_**Please review! They do mean so much to me and also inspire me to write the next chapter faster :)**_

_**Let me know if you want to see anything in this story too :) I'm always open to suggestions.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**PARADOXICAL DREAMING**

**CHAPTER THREE**

_12 favourites and 25 follows - THANK-YOU :) They make me very happy._

_And my reviewers. Oh how I love you lot! Remember to leave me another little review. They're like little parcels of joy :) Thank-you each and every one of you for reviewing._

_**Muntzy09: **__There are plenty more twists ahead!_

_**Marina Oakenshield:**__ Do you mean in her dreams, like when I write them together or when she ends up in Middle Earth? Either way, it's on its way!_

_**hawtpheonix: **__Hmmmm, maybe he does ;) you shall have to wait and find out!_

_**soulsistersinaslan:**__ Well I'm glad I can be original for you :) And your question is answer in this chapter!_

_**LullabyWriter: **__Cool username there! I was planning on her going on the quest because I've got a real good plot twist planned, but it;s not 100% set in stone. However, it probably will happen. However sometimes you write things and they take on a mind of their own!_

* * *

_Alethea._

Fili's eyes snapped open as his hand came into contact with the cold space next to him. What met his gorgeous blue eyes was the expanse of the barn loft he was currently laying in, his naked body partially covered by a blanket. There was plenty of hay, but no Alethea.

Fili groaned and scrunched up his face, closing his eyes. There was no Alethea. _Again_. Judging by the dim light streaming in through the cracks in the wooden planks of the roof, dawn was only just breaking. How this enigmatic and mysterious woman, who dressed like no merchant from the Far East he had ever encountered and spoke with an even stranger vocabulary, could leave his side where she had been curled up against not even a couple of hours before without nary a sound that caused him to stir or wake, was beyond the young Prince's understanding. How she had managed to do it now for the forth time, was mind boggling. And a tiny bit worrying as it drew his alertness and skill set as a warrior into question. Furthermore, the question as to _why_ she kept disappearing was also on Fili's mind, though it was one he cared not to dwell on too much. He had his pride after all.

Fili pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked around him to locate his clothes. His light blue tunic lay discarded only a few feet away; his trousers were slung over the top of the ladder to the hay loft and he could make out one boot peaking out of a pile of loose hay behind him. However, where his other boot, socks, coat and under-clothes were remained to be seen.

Fili quickly pulled on the clothes he could see. Climbing down the ladder and carefully avoiding the nasty looking scythe the he and Alethea had almost impaled themselves on in their haste and single-mindedness last night, he found his under-clothes and coat at the bottom of the ladder, though scattered across the barn floor. The coat had been discarded before he had slung the beauty that was Alethea over his shoulder and climbed with her up the ladder. The action had earned him a squeal of glee from her. The noise had pleased him greatly. That one and the ones that followed.

His under-clothes however, were certainly not removed on ground level. Fili smirked at that. Clearly they had been thrown from his body when Alethea had removed them with quite some gusto.

_Well, she is always enthusiastic. _Fili's smirk deepened. Her enthusiasm didn't go unappreciated. Not at all. _Not. At. All…_

Having located the majority of his clothing, Fili stretched and looked around him. Dawn meant that the farmer who owned this barn would no doubt soon be out to feed the animals that lived in the building. Not particularly wanting to be caught and have to explain his presence or be arrested/run through with a rusty pitchfork for trespassing, Fili set about quickly trying to find his missing boot and socks.

"Mooooo."

Fili raised an eyebrow at the large brown and white bovine inhabitant of the barn. "I don't suppose you know where my soc- Ah, right."

One sock was currently been chewed by said heifer who regarded Fili with an air of boredom. Fili didn't hold out much hope for the other sock.

"You wouldn't have seen my other boot then? Or have you eaten that too?"

No reply came from the cow this time. Clearly she was too busy savouring Fili's sock.

Fili rapidly checked the animal stalls, seeing as how his socks had fallen within reach of one of their occupants. And it was in the sow stall that he found his lost boot. Thankfully it was untouched by the pigs, but unfortunately it had landed in their water trough and as he picked it up and watched the water fall, slosh and drip from it, he knew that it would remain soaked through for a good few hours to come. It also squelched when he put it on his foot. The wet, slippery sensation wasn't pleasant either.

* * *

The town Fili and a few of the dwarves from the Blue Mountains were staying in was a town of mainly Men. Thorin had trade talks to conduct with the men in the area to secure materials and food that would last their people back home through the next winter and had deemed it time that Fili accompany him on such business. Kili of course had then insisted on coming along. He had at first been denied, but several weeks of whining at worn down their mother who had then yelled at their uncle until he reconsidered his earlier decision. And so, Kili was made part of the trade talks. Though given how bored he had been yesterday during the talks with the cloth merchants, Fili had no doubt Kili was regretting coming along at all. Fili had no doubt he would be in exactly the same state of mind if not for one thing - Alethea.

Alethea had come into his life much like hail. Hail was unpredictable and could start down-pouring without a seconds warning even if it was the nicest day of summer. Hail could last for all of a few moments or for endless days. There was no norm, general guide or rule of thumb when it came to hail. Hail was one of natures most elusive phenomenons and did not adhere to what was expected of it.

_Hail. _It fit.

Fili mused as he walked towards the inn where he and his brother were sharing a room. Perhaps one of the reasons he compared Alethea to hail was because it had been hailing the first time they had met. That and the fact she quite literally barrelled into him as they both tried to run for shelter underneath a small section of out-jutting roof that feasibly had not been big enough for both of them to stand under.

The young dwarf ignored the uncomfortable rubbing of his foot in his wet boot and the squelching noise it made by letting his mind wonder to the woman who was starting to occupy more and more of his thoughts as time wore on. After helping her up from where she had fallen into a puddle after practically bouncing off of him, he had offered her his coat. He could still remember the look of shock on her face. Though he was sure the one on his when she had refused was greater.

_Hail._ It never did what you expected. And you couldn't decipher a pattern for it either.

Fili's… _encounters_ with the charming woman had started from out of no where. Her appearances always side-blinded him. It left him with a itch to know how she did it. She made him curious. What was this air of mystery around her that drew him to the woman? Sure, there was far more than that that attracted him to her. Plus, the more times he saw Alethea, the more he saw about her that attracted him to her. And contrary to other women he had lain with, the more the learnt about her, the more curious he found himself. Whereas before he would drink and his thrust was quenched, drinking from the riddle that was Alethea left him desiring more. Her laugh, smile and that coy quirk she did with her eyebrow (and moans) had turned into an elixir that Fili was slowly becoming addicted to - not that he was about to admit that to himself.

Or Kili for that matter.

Though they had been staying in the town and visiting the surrounding ones for several weeks now, he had yet to mention Alethea to Kili. Though the brothers shared everything, Alethea was a secret Fili was not yet ready to divulge at present. The reasons behind this were something the Prince did not care to ponder or dwell upon. They were pushed to a corner of his mind where the thoughts of firstly, _why_ Alethea did not stay with him until the morning light broke and secondly, just how much he wanted to know when the next time would be that he'd see her, were buried.

Entering the inn, Fili paused at the bottom of the stairs. The inn was made up of two levels. The first consisted of a pub where several men from the night before were sleeping off the copious amounts of ale they had consumed. Some lounged at tables, where others were snoring under them. The second floor of the establishment was home to the inn's owner and his family with several rooms he rented to those that passed through the town and needed a place to rest their head - provided they had coin of course. The inn's owner was currently righting chairs and kicking his customers out of their alcohol induced slumber and grumbling at them to go sleep in their own homes.

The town they were staying in was the nucleus of several surrounding smaller ones. There was no guaranteeing the inn's owner knew anything about Alethea. _But what if he did?_ Fili bit his lip, torn. There was certainly a part of Fili that wanted to find out more about the woman he had spent last night with (and several others before that), but what if she didn't want him to know anything? Her elusiveness and the fact that she was never there when he woke up could mean just that.

"Innkeeper." The word was out of his mouth before his mind could conjure up more 'what ifs'.

"Aye?" was the gruff response Fili got as the innkeeper paused after righting an upturned table.

"There's a woman."

"There are several women who come in 'ere."

"She doesn't come in here. She's not a working girl. She might be part of the merchant outfit from the Far East?"

"Well then you're better off asking 'em." The innkeeper turned back to his work.

Fili nodded, though the man couldn't see and turned to climb the stairs. There were more talks today and he had had little sleep last night. Though that wasn't something he could really complain about. Hopefully he could slip into the room he shared with Kili and catch up on a few precious hours before he had to join his uncle later on. All thoughts of Alethea and who and where she might be would have to wait.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

**PARADOXICAL DREAMING**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

_22 Favourites and 46 Followers - thank-you my lovelies! And to everyone who reviewed, you guys are AWESOME._

_**LullabyWriter:**__ That is exactly what I was aiming for, so thank-you very much! When the smut comes along, (which won't be too long now), hopefully that'll be good too!_

_**Marina Oakenshield: **__I hope you like this chapter too :)_

_**Guest:**__ I do too! Especially if it's with Fili! Wink wink ;)_

_**babayaga89:**__ Thanks! Haha, well the smut will be soon so I hope you've perviness can wait until then! Not that I blame you - this is FILI we're talking about!_

_**Sour: **__I love your long reviews! This chapter is all about Alethea so you can see her more as a person and get to know her better. I feel it's important that people get to know her more in-depth. Be sure to tell me what you think :) Haha, I love Natasha and Alethea and it's so tempting just to write about them to getting into trouble together and having a laugh but there has to be Fili too! :) Hehe long johns…. I might use something like that later. Oh yes, the cover photo is yummy, isn't it? Hmmmmmm :D And to answer you, smut is coming soon :)_

_**parttimefangirl: **__I haven't heard of those video games. I'm glad you like the twist! Haha, you're not the only perv! And yes, this will be bumpd up to M soon. Haha, well if this helps feed your perversion, there's lots of goodness to come!_

_**soulsistersinaslan: **__Btw cool name! Hehe, sweetie pie Kili may have a few things up this sleeve in the coming chapters, but you'll have to wait and see!_

_**greaserlady: **__I also thought the chapters were too short and therefore I took longer to update with this one and made it longer. I hope you like! Tell me what you think :)_

_**ameliemallette1: **__Merci! Dites moi qu'est-ce que vous pensez de ce chapitre :)_

* * *

"Dispatch to Tango Charlie Six. Dispatch to Tango Charlie Six. Come in Tango Charlie Six. Over."

Alethea, given that she wasn't driving the ambulance, reached over and picked up the cackling radio. "Tango Charlie Six here. What you got for us? Over."

"Eighty-three year old female, suspected heart attack. Female is conscious and coherent. Name of Joyce. Location is the Hollingsworth housing estate, flat sixty-seven. Tango Charlie Six, are you able to respond?"

"Affirmative Dispatch. ETA is under ten minutes. Over." Alethea replaced the radio into its holder, then turned and spoke to the paramedic she was partnered with for that week. "Take the second exit off this roundabout and then I'll put on the siren."

"Where is the Hollingsworth complex?"

The paramedic Alethea was partnered with was the new one Natasha had spent the week with at the beginning on the month. Giving a fresh out of school, newbie paramedic to Natasha was akin to a baptism by fire for them. Natasha hated being partnered with the new paramedics assigned to their team at the hospital and by the end of their first day, those same rookies felt exactly the same. Natasha didn't really do "friendly" all that well. Well, not unless she was trying to have sex with said individual anyway. Indeed, her approach to welcoming the new paramedics onto the job and putting them at ease involved far too much glaring and huffing to be entirely effective. Shouting and swearing were also sometimes involved depending on the new paramedics' competence. This shouting and swearing was directly proportional to how capable Natasha deemed them. All Alethea could say about it was heaven above help the rookies if they somehow irked Natasha.

Robert - or Robbie, as he had said to call him when Alethea had met him that morning - had survived the week he had had by way as an induction with Natasha. And given that there had been only a handful of swear words following his name when Natasha had told Alethea about the time she had spent with the young man after its completion, Alethea therefore could deem that Robert wasn't a complete and utter idiot and was at least semi-competent at his job. Furthermore, this was their second call of the morning and so far, Alethea couldn't find much to complain about regarding the young man. He had seemed a bit put out that their first emergency hadn't been all that exciting, but from experience, Alethea knew that was something all new paramedics went through. The reality of their job was very different from what most people perceived. With any luck, Robbie would know this without having to be told at some point. And with even more luck, if that situation were to pass, Natasha wouldn't be the one telling him, because if that were the case, he wouldn't stand a chance at getting out of the situation with his hearing still intact (and quite possibly his balls, it really depended on her mood).

"South Bank, off the main Hedgeway Road."

The pair arrived at their destination several minutes later. The Hollingsworth estate was located in quite a scuzzy part of the South Bank and lay directly in the path of an increasingly growing re-generation project the city was pushing on lots of areas just like it. The local residents were currently fighting a loosing battle in the courts against the property realtors and developers to try and save their homes and avoid moving. If Alethea were to put money on it, she'd say the whole area would be bulldozed and levelled within the next two years. New, flashy buildings would then spring up and sell for ten times any flat in the Hollingsworth estate had ever been worth. The current residents would receive some sort of financial compensation, but nowhere near enough to afford the rent of the new buildings built.

Robert parked the ambulance in a parking space reserved for emergency vehicles at the front of the specific block of high rise flats they wanted. Alethea quickly jumped out of the passenger seat and hurried around the bright green and yellow checkered vehicle to open the back of the ambulance. Robert joined her and helped her unload the gurney. He looked around, trying to locate the flat number they needed. A bulletin board caught his eye.

"Fourth floor."

Alethea nodded and slung her paramedics bag over her shoulder, while Robert secured the necessary equipment they might need to the stretcher. The pair swiftly rolled the gurney into the apartment building and headed for the lifts.

A large "OUT OF ORDER" sign that looked like it had been hung there for a considerable amount of time met them.

"Stairs it is." Alethea muttered as Robert let out a groan. "Oh come on Robbie! It's only four floors."

"Four is enough with this gurney," was his disgruntled reply. "It weighs a ton!"

The two paramedics started climbing the stairs, carefully manoeuvring the stretcher around the stairwell's tight corners. Getting a patient down this same way when they were strapped to the gurney was going to be difficult. Difficult, but not impossible. Luckily, as a paramedic, Alethea had to keep very physically fit so the strength and stamina needed to do the task ahead were already checked off her on "need this" list. Still, it wasn't an ideal situation.

"Well, last week Natasha and I had to heave this gurney up over twenty flights of stairs, so quit complaining."

"Blimey, how long did that take you?"

"Well there was a patient in severe anaphylactic shock at the top of those stairs, so not as long as my poor legs would have liked. There was a lot of sprinting involved. Robbie, pivot a bit more, my end's getting stuck on the railing." Alethea lifted the stretcher a bit higher and managed to angle it just so to allow it to get around the tight corner. "I swear broken lifts, patients always living high up and carry this gurney is the only reason I'm not the size of a whale because I love cake like I've never loved anything else."

Robert laughed. However, her statement was true. Given how much Alethea ate and how unhealthily she ate (midnight snacks were very commonplace), if she just did a normal office desk job, with 9 to 5 hours, she would have had trouble fitting through doorways. There was no doubt about it. Keeping her body physically fit was probably the only upside to the incredibly physically demanding and strenuous job she did. Well, not really, but when carrying a gurney that weighed only a little less than she did, it certainly felt like it. Plus, it was good motivation as the lactic acid built up in her muscles and they started to ache.

"Fourth floor, here we are."

Alethea and Robert wheeled the stretcher along the corridor until they reached flat sixty-seven. The green door had chipped paint and the potted flowers outside it where mostly dead, though Alethea noted they had been watered recently anyway. The door was closed so Alethea knocked loudly and announced their presence. Hopefully they wouldn't have to force the door.

There was no answer. Robert moved closer to her as she repeated her actions, this time raising her voice to a louder level. They waited several moments longer before the door swung open and revealed a little old lady smiling at them, hunched over from the passing of years.

"We're here for Joyce. She dialed 999 for an ambulance?" Alethea told the older woman, glancing over her much shorter frame to see if anyone else could be seen inside the apartment.

"Oh that's me dear. Do come in." The old woman beamed at the pair of paramedics, before turning and walking further into her flat. "I'll put the kettle on, shall I? I have biscuits too! Chocolate this week, you're in luck dearies!"

Robert shot Alethea a look, before following her into the woman's home.

"Joyce, you said on the telephone that you thought you might be having a heart attack?" Robert called after the small lady as she disappeared into what Alethea assumed was the kitchen.

"Oh that," Joyce answered, then paused and they heard the kettle brewing slowly. "That, yes, that was very unfortunate. I felt terrible, so I called. Yes, awful business that. Do sit down dearies, I'll be right out with your teas."

Robert looked to Alethea, unsure as how to proceed. Alethea held a hand out to reassure him, then took charge of the situation as she had much more experience with such things. She quickly followed Joyce into the kitchen and stood besides her.

"Joyce, do you still think you're having a heart attack?"

The older woman laughed softly. "At my age, you never know, dear. Terrible business all that is really, hm?"

The older woman continued pottering about the kitchen, making three teas and getting out the chocolate biscuits she had mentioned earlier.

"Joyce," Alethea said slowly, but firmly. "Joyce, we need to check you over and see how you're doing. OK?"

"Yes, yes, dear. You can do that after you've had a cuppa. Here you take that and the biscuits." The old woman pushed a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits into Alethea's hands and then picked up the two remaining cups herself. "Let's go into the lounge and sit down, hm love? Yes, let's do that."

Alethea followed Joyce back out of the kitchen and into the hallway where Robert was still looking lost and unsure of himself. Alethea gave him a smile and nodded at him to follow behind her into the lounge. Joyce sat down in a very dreary looking armchair and gesture to the love seat at a right angle to it for Alethea and her partner to sit down on. Alethea did so, but Robert remained at the lounge doorway, observing the pair.

"Joyce," Alethea set down the cups on the table and made sure she had her patient's attention focused on her. "I need to check you over, Joyce. Will you let me do that now, please?"

Joyce looked rather put out, but the determined and professional demeanour that Alethea emitted didn't leave much room for argument so she relented and let her.

Alethea explained each medical thing she was doing - monitoring her pulse; measuring her heart beat; checking her pupil dilation; etc. What she didn't tell Joyce was how she was observing the woman. Alethea was watching her as she talked to Robert and chatted amiably about the weather then spoke about her husband and how he had been gone for over a year now, followed by her new neighbours who were rather rude, the price of milk, how Robert liked his cup of tea and how she liked hers, then back to her deceased husband and then onto various other things. Robert nodded and added a word in here and there but otherwise didn't say anything. He wasn't sure how to proceed. They had been called out for a heart attack of an elderly person - and Joyce most certainly wasn't having a heart attack.

Alethea's findings showed Joyce to be perfectly healthy. Her blood pressure was slightly high but nothing alarming or life threatening. Though truth be told, Alethea's instincts had told her that the moment Joyce had opened the door. Alethea had to make sure her hunch was correct though.

"Joyce - Joyce, listen to me please, thank-you - Joyce, there's nothing wrong with you. And something tells me that when you rang 999 nothing was…?" Alethea said it gently, all the while maintaing eye contact with the older lady.

"Well, um, well, I, I," Joyce averted her gaze and clutched at her cardigan nervously. "Um, yes, well, you see when I rang I didn't feel all that well, so it wasn't really a lie, and um, yes, um…"

Joyce trailed off and Alethea nodded. She felt sympathetic towards Joyce and was about to talk to her about various options and services that could be provided for her when Robert spoke from the doorway.

"_You lied to get us here?_" He sounded annoyed. More than annoyed in fact.

Alethea shot him a sharp look, but didn't orally reprimand him. That would come later. When he caught her eye, she glared at him, _hard_, before turning back to Joyce who was almost on the brink of tears.

Alethea reached and put her hand over Joyce's. The contrast of young, vibrant sink on top of much older, wrinkly and slightly spotted skin was noticeable.

"It's alright, Joyce. We're not angry at you." She said delicately. "It's alright."

The much older woman sniffed, her hands still trembling slightly, then muttered something so softly Alethea barely heard it. "He is."

Alethea glanced over her shoulder at her fellow paramedic and raised an eyebrow. When nothing happened, she raised the other one. It was how she did her 'I'm threatening you but I'm doing it politely' face. Robert shifted his stance and cleared his throat.

"No, no I'm not. Um… dear? I'm not mad."

Alethea thought he could have put more effort into it, but let it go. For the moment at least because she had more pressing things to focus on.

"Joyce, it's alright. Really it is. I think I understand what's going on here."

Joyce sniffed some more, before meeting Alethea's eyes, her own hopeful.

"You do?"

The way she said it caused Alethea's heart to ache. There was so much hope and, well, _desperation_ in just those two words. Alethea nodded and tightened her gripped ever so slightly on her octogenarian's hand.

"You said your husband, Nathan, passed on about a year ago?" Joyce nodded and Alethea continued. "It's been very hard for you since then. You've been alone in this flat, where you used to know a lot of people but not any more. And with the building projects going on, the broken lift and your bad hip, you can't get out too much or go too far any more. Am I right, Joyce?"

Alethea had been listening to her as she chatted and had put the pieces together. Sadly, very sadly in fact, she had seen this before but even so, it was her natural instinct that had told her what was actually wrong. Those instincts were part of what made her such a good paramedic (and human being, but that was just was Natasha said, though only normally after she'd downed a few drinks).

"Nathan took care of me. We were married right after the war, you know." Joyce turned a picked up a photo frame of a young couple and handed it to Alethea.

Alethea looked down at the photo and quickly realised the woman was a smiling and much happier Joyce from years ago. She was dancing, held in the arms of a handsome, young soldier as he twirled her around the dance floor. Alethea assumed the man was Nathan.

"He proposed to me that night." Joyce's eyes were bright, even though there were still the remnants of tears in them.

"You make a striking couple," Alethea said and raised her head to smile at the woman next to her. "Joyce, I'm very sorry you're lonely now, really I am, and I want to help you."

"Oh, no dear, I'm just a silly old woman, really." Joyce waved her hand, dismissing the notion and took the photo frame back.

"No. No, I promise you you're not." Alethea wanted to do something here. Technically this wasn't in her job description and by now she really should have left and radioed dispatch that it was a false alarm and they weren't bringing a patient or an emergency in, but that wasn't the sort of person Alethea was, so instead she formed a plan inside her head. "Joyce, I'm going to talk to some people about getting you some company. I know you don't want to leave this place, so maybe you'd like someone to come around and visit you a couple of times a week, or perhaps go out to the shops with you? Things like that."

Joyce seemed to consider it for a moment. Alethea could practically see the internal battle she was having - torn between not wanting to be a burden to the younger generations but also so desperately wanting not to be forgotten about by them.

"It wouldn't be any trouble." Alethea offered and it seemed to do the trick in swaying Joyce's mind.

"Well, dear, that would be awfully nice. I do miss talking to people."

Alethea couldn't help the smile that was spreading on her face. It felt so good to be able to make a small difference.

Half an hour and several cups of tea later, Alethea and Robert were heading back to the ambulance. Robert didn't speak until they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"We could have been out of there in under five minutes."

Alethea sighed. It seemed she was going to be the one to let the new paramedic know a few world truths.

"Yes, we could have, Robert," she used his full name and made sure he was listening to her, "but listening to and helping that old lady is just as much a part of our job as any other call we may have gotten."

"But there was nothing wrong with her. She lied and wasted our time. We could have helped someone who actually needed our help."

Alethea stopped walking sharply. "_She_ needed our help. Robert. Joyce, need our help."

"She was lonely. She wasn't having a heart attack."

"Maybe not," Alethea said slowly. "But does that mean we should have just left her?"

"Alethea, we're aren't social workers."

He said it like it was so simple. Alethea could feel the prickle of heat rising on the back of her neck, like it did every time she got angry. Alethea was a professional though and reigned in her anger.

"Is that the kind of paramedic you want to be? Strike that actually. Is that the kind of _person_ you want to be? We are here, doing this job to serve those in need. Those in _need_, Robert. It seems like you didn't get the memo but each day isn't going to be sirens and emergencies. This job isn't all guts and glory, mate. Yes, there are times when a person's life is solely in your hands but there are far, far, _far_ more times when the situation is just like Joyce's. It's actually not serious enough to warrant a paramedic, but a person is worried or lonely or scared and needs us - for whatever reason, they need us. And that's our job. To be there. And Robert, if you didn't know that or you don't like the reality of what this job actually entails, then I can safely say this job isn't for you."

Alethea hadn't known where she was going with what had turned into quite the speech, but she knew it had to be said. Robert didn't say anything and they continued on to the ambulance in silence. However, during the next call-outs they had that day, he certainly did try harder with their patients and that was something Alethea was glad about.

* * *

Natasha waved at Alethea as the ambulance she was in drove into the parking bay of the hospital. They were finishing their shift at the same time and she was just waiting for her to return from her last call-out which had been all the way across town at rush hour.

Natasha watched as Alethea and the new paramedic she had had to partner with a few weeks ago - she hadn't bothered to remember his name - went about unloading their ambulance and restocking the inventory for the next paramedics on shift. She didn't look around as Spencer, their supervisor for the past few years came to stand besides her. Both of them watch their mutual friend in silence.

"How's she doing?" the man besides her asked, his eyes still following Alethea.

"Marvellous. Bloody fantastic even. You wouldn't even know she'd been so ill."

Natasha didn't like to think how she'd very nearly lost her friend several months ago. She'd supported Alethea through the whole ordeal and her various surgeries and then her recovery. Though she hadn't told her best friend, she was both extremely proud and awed by Alethea's recovery and determination after everything she had been through.

"Hm, looking at her now you wouldn't even know she'd had a heart transplant at the beginning of the year."

'_No, no indeed you wouldn__'__t.__' _Natasha thought. Without seeing the long scar down the middle of her chest, a person wouldn't be any the wiser. Alethea was amazing, there was no doubt about it.

* * *

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